BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a part aligning apparatus that aligns a direction of a part having different shapes at one end and the other end in an axial direction.

2. Description of Related Art

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 05-340739 (JP 05-340739 A) describes an apparatus for aligning a direction of a part having different shapes at one end and the other end in an axial direction, for example, an unequal pitch spring. This apparatus irradiates an outer periphery of the part (spring) to be aligned with laser slit light, makes only reflected light from the part enter a camera through a filter to capture an image of an irradiated section of the part, and processes the image to determine the direction of the part. In technology as described above, the part in an opposite direction is inverted by an inverting apparatus.

[0003] The above apparatus can automatically determine the direction of the part with high accuracy. However, the necessity of a laser irradiating section and an imaging section increases the cost of the apparatus. In addition, although the part in the opposite direction is inverted by the inverting apparatus, this further increases the cost of the apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention provides a part aligning apparatus at low cost that can easily and surely align a direction of a part having different shapes, particularly different diameters, at one end and other end in an axial direction (hereinafter simply referred to as a part having different diameters).

[0005] A first aspect of the present invention is directed to the part aligning apparatus that aligns the direction of the part having different diameters at the one end and the other end in the axial direction. The part aligning apparatus includes: a part axial aligning section that sends the part from a shoot in a direction that intersects with a specified direction in a state that the axial direction of the part is in the specified direction; and a part direction aligning section that has a downwardly sloping groove in a direction that intersects with the specified direction, slides the part sent from the part axial aligning section to the groove, and align the direction of the part.

[0006] According to the above aspect, it is possible to provide the part aligning apparatus at low cost that can easily and surely align the direction of the part having the different shapes, particularly the different diameters, at the one end and the other end in the axial direction.

[0007] In the above aspect, a drop hole may be provided to drop and eject the part that is in an opposite direction from an appropriate direction. '

[0008] According to the above aspect, it is possible with a simple configuration to eject the part that is not aligned before the part reaches a downstream end of the groove.

[0009] In the above aspect, the groove of the part direction aligning section may be a gutter that has an arc-shaped cross section, may slide the part sent from the part axial aligning section to the gutter by its own weight, and may align the direction of the part by a difference in diameter between both ends of the part.

[0010] According to the above aspect, it is possible to provide the part aligning apparatus at low cost that can easily and surely align the direction of the part having different diameters.

[0011] In the above aspect, the gutter may have the arc-shaped cross section such that a large diameter section and a small diameter section of the part contact an inner peripheral surface ¹ - of the gutter when the part is sent in a state that the axial direction thereof is in the direction that intersects with a sloping direction of the gutter.

[0012] According to the above aspect, it is possible to surely and promptly achieve an action of the part direction aligning section to align the part.

[0013] In the above aspect, a part upright restricting section may be provided that receives the part whose direction is aligned in the part direction aligning section and dropped from the part direction aligning section in a state that the small diameter section thereof faces upward and that places the part.

[0014] According to the above aspect, it is possible to receive the part whose direction is aligned in and dropped from the part direction aligning section in the state that the small diameter section thereof faces upward and to place the part, and thus it is convenient to supply the part to a next step in a part assembling process or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denote like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view for showing an overview of a part aligning apparatus

(apparatus of the present invention) according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view for showing the overview of the part aligning apparatus

(apparatus of the present invention) according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line V-V of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a principle of part direction alignment in a part direction aligning section of the apparatus of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view for explaining a drop hole that is drilled in a part direction aligning section of the apparatus of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0016] A description will hereinafter be made on an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. The same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numeral in each of the drawings. An apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is a part aligning apparatus that aligns a direction of a part (work) W in a column or rod shape, for example, whose one end and the other end in an axial direction have different diameters. More specifically, the part aligning apparatus aligns the axial direction of the part W in an up-down direction. The up-down direction approximately matches an up-down direction in FIG. 1. Furthermore, the part aligning apparatus turns a large diameter section side downwardly (a small diameter section side upwardly). This part aligning apparatus includes a shoot 1 , a part axial aligning section 2, a part direction aligning section 3, and a part upright, restricting section 4 in an illustrated example.

[0017] The part W to be aligned includes a coil spring that has different diameters at one end and the other end in the axial direction and, more specifically, whose windings are tapered to a tip. The shoot 1 has a downwardly sloping gutter-shaped body that has a substantially U-shaped cross section and that sends the part W from a parts feeder (P/F) to the part axial aligning section 2 by its own weight.

[0018] The part axial aligning section 2 aligns the axial direction of the part W from the shoot 1 in a specified direction and then sends the part W (to the part direction aligning section 3) in a direction that intersects with the specified direction, that is, basically in a perpendicular direction as shown in FIG. 2. This part axial aligning section 2 includes a V-block 2a, paired fall prevention plates 2b, 2c, and paired guide plates 2d, 2e, for example (see FIG. 3 and FIG. 4).

[0019] The V-block 2a includes a V-groove 2f that extends in a same direction as a sloping direction of the shoot 1 (a direction in which a groove of the shoot 1 extends). The V-block 2a is a member that receives the part W from the shoot 1 , which is shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, at a groove end, aligns the axial direction of the part W, and can move in an up-down direction. The up-down direction approximately matches an up-down direction in FIG, 3. The paired fall prevention plates (front and rear fall prevention plates) 2b, 2c are members that position the part W from the shoot 1 on the V-groove 2f of the V-block 2a. The paired guide plates 2d, 2e are members that send the part W toward an entry of the part direction aligning section 3 when the V-block 2a is lowered from a part positioning position. In order to fulfill such a function, the paired guide plates 2d, 2e are positioned inside the front and rear fall prevention plates 2b, 2c, and upper surfaces 2g, 2h thereof slope downwardly from a far side to a near side with respect to the entry of the part direction aligning section 3.

[0020] The part direction aligning section 3 has a groove that slopes downwardly in a same direction as a direction to send the part W from the part axial aligning section 2, that is, a gutter 3a that has an arc-shaped cross section in the illustrated example. The part direction aligning section 3 is an apparatus that rotates and slides the part W sent from the part axial aligning section 2 to the gutter 3a by its own weight and that aligns the direction of the part W by using the difference in diameter at both ends. More specifically, the part direction aligning section 3 aligns the axial direction of the part W, which is sent from the part axial aligning section 2, to a sloping direction of the gutter 3a (a direction in which a groove extends) and also turns the large diameter section side to a downstream side (the small diameter section side to an upstream side).

[0021] The gutter 3a has the cross section that is formed as follows in order to align the direction of the part W as described above. The gutter 3a has the arc-shaped cross section such that only the large diameter section and the small diameter section of the part W contact an inner peripheral surface of the gutter 3a when the part W is sent from the part axial aligning section 2, that is, when the part W is sent from the part axial aligning section 2 in a state that the axial direction thereof is perpendicular to the sloping direction of the gutter 3a. FIG. 5 shows the cross sectional shape of such a gutter 3a. In FIG. 5, PI indicates a point where the large diameter section of the part W contacts the inner peripheral surface of the gutter 3 a while P2 indicates a point where the small diameter section of the part W contacts the inner peripheral surface of the gutter 3 a.

[0022] When the cross section of the gutter 3a is formed in the arc shape such that only the large diameter section and the small diameter section of the part W contact the inner peripheral surface of the gutter 3 a as described above, the part W that is sent to the gutter 3a is aligned as follows. By the time the part W reaches a downstream end of the gutter 3a (an exit of the part direction aligning section 3), the axial direction of the part W is aligned in the sloping direction of the gutter 3 a, and the large diameter section side is turned to the downstream side (the small diameter section, side is turned to the upstream side).

[0023] Such an action to align the direction of the part W is now described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 shows a principle that the large diameter section side of the part W is always turned to the downstream side by the time it reaches the downstream end of the gutter 3a regardless of whether the large diameter section is positioned on a left side L or a right side R in the axial direction of the part when the part W is sent from the part axial aligning section 2 to the gutter 3a in the state that the axial direction thereof is turned perpendicular to the sloping direction of the gutter 3 a. A description is first made on a case where the large diameter section of the part W is positioned on the left side L of the axial direction. In this case, when a part WL starts rotating and sliding by its own weight, a circumferential speed VI on a circular arc AIL that is created by the large diameter section of the part WL becomes VI = rl*co while a circumferential speed Vs on a circular arc AsL that is created by the small diameter section of the part WL becomes Vs = rs*co in which V is the circumferential speed (m/s), r is an outer diameter of a large diameter section or a small diameter section (m), and ω is a rotating angular speed (rad/s). In this case, the circumferential speed of the large diameter section of the part WL during the rotation and sliding is faster than that of the small diameter section, and thus the large diameter section of the part WL advances with respect to the small diameter section thereof. If extension length of the gutter 3a is appropriately set, the large diameter section is turned to the downstream side by the time it reaches the downstream end of the gutter 3 a. Next, a description will be made on a case where the large diameter section of the part W is positioned on the right side R in the axial direction. Similar to the above, the circumferential speed of the large diameter section of a part WR during the rotation and sliding is also faster than that of the small diameter section in this case, and thus the large diameter section of the part WR advances with respect to the small diameter section thereof. The large diameter section of the part WR is turned to the downstream side by the time it reaches the downstream end of the gutter 3a (see a circular arc AIR created by the large diameter section and a circular arc AsR created by the small diameter section of the part WR in FIG, 6).

[0024] The part upright restricting section 4 receives the part W whose direction is aligned in the part direction aligning section 3 and dropped from the part direction aligning section 3 in a state that the small diameter section thereof faces upward (the large diameter section faces downward) and places the part W on a bed 5. The part upright restricting section 4 is formed of a semi-cylindrical restraining plate 4a and a flat restraining plate 4b. The reference numeral 61 in FIG. 1 indicates a sensor that detects positioning of the part W on the V-groove 2f while the reference numeral 62 indicates a sensor that detects placement of the part W on the bed 5 by the part upright restricting section 4. .

[0025] Next, the operation of the apparatus of the present invention is described. First, the part W is supplied to the shoot 1 from the parts feeder (P/F). The part W slides on the shoot 1 by its own weight and reaches the part axial aligning section 2. More specifically, the part W that has slid on the shoot 1 enters the V-groove 2f of the V-block 2a in the part axial aligning section 2 from the groove end, and is positioned on the V-groove 2f when a front side thereof is stopped by the front fall prevention plate 2b and the position of the rear side thereof is regulated by the rear fall prevention plate 2c. Accordingly, the part W is aligned such that the axial direction thereof is in the specified direction, that is, the direction in which the V-groove 2f extends (the part axial alignment).

[0026] Once the sensor 61 detects that the part W is positioned on the V-groove 2f, the V-block 2a is lowered from the part positioning position. This causes the upper surfaces 2g, 2h of the paired guide plates 2d, 2e to reach lower surfaces on axial ends of the part W that has been positioned on the V-groove 2f of the V-block 2a. When the V-blpck 2a is further lowered and the part W that is abutted against the upper surfaces 2g, 2h of the paired guide plates 2d, 2e is positioned above the V-groove 2f (separated from the V-groove 2f), the part W is placed only on the upper surfaces 2g, 2h of the paired guide plates 2d, 2e. Because the upper surfaces 2g, 2h of the paired guide plates 2d, 2e slope downwardly toward the upstream end of the gutter 3 a (the entry of the part direction aligning section 3), the part W is sent to the gutter 3a in the state that the axial direction thereof is aligned in the direction in which the V-groove 2f extends (the part axial alignment).

[0027] When the part W is placed on the upper surfaces 2g, 2h of the paired guide plates 2d, 2e and descends the downward slope, the large diameter section of the part W starts descending the downward before the small diameter section does. Accordingly, the large diameter section of the part W is sent to the gutter 3a slightly before the small diameter section does. Therefore, when the part is sent from the part axial aligning section 2 to the gutter 3a, such advancement supports the part aligning action achieved by the gutter 3a (the part direction aligning section 3).

[0028] The part W that is sent from the part axial aligning section 2 toward the gutter 3a as described above is sent to the upstream end of the gutter 3a (the entry of the part direction aligning section 3), and rotates and slides on the gutter 3a by its own weight toward the downstream end of the gutter 3a (the exit of the part direction aligning section 3). Here, the part W has different diameters at the one end and the other end. In addition, the gutter 3a has the arc-shaped cross section such that only the large diameter section and the small diameter section of the part W contact the inner peripheral surface of the gutter 3 a when the part W is sent from the part axial aligning section 2. Accordingly, as described above with reference to FIG. 6, the circumferential speed of the large diameter section during the rotation and sliding on the gutter 3a is faster than that of the small diameter section, and thus the large diameter section advances with respect to the small diameter section. Consequently, the large diameter section side of the part W always faces (is aligned in) the downstream side at the downstream end of the gutter 3 a. The part upright restricting section 4 receives the part W that is aligned in the part direction aligning section 3 and dropped from the part direction aligning section 3 in the state that the small diameter section side thereof faces upward, and places the part W on the bed 5.

[0029] According to the apparatus of the present invention as described above, it is possible to align the part W having different diameters at the one end and the other end in the axial direction not by the expensive apparatuses such as a laser irradiating section and an imaging section but by the part axial aligning section 2 and the part direction aligning section 3 that are both simple and economical. Especially, it is possible to surely and automatically align the direction of the part W in the part direction aligning section 3 by adopting the law of nature, that is, by using the difference in diameter between the part ends in the gutter 3 a that has arc-shaped cross section (the difference in circumferential speed between the part ends during the rotation and sliding of the part). Therefore, there is no need for an expensive inverting apparatus for inverting the part W, and the apparatus can be simply structured at low cost.

[0030] While the part W in the appropriate direction, that is, the part W whose large diameter section side faces the downstream side slides, a drop hole 71 (see FIG. 7) that has a shape to drop and eject the part W that is in the opposite direction from the appropriate direction may be provided at a center in a width direction of the downstream end of the gutter 3a. As shown in FIG. 7, the drop hole 71 may adopt a shape that is similar to and slightly larger than a contour of the part W and in which the small diameter section side faces the downstream side. According to such a drop hole 71 , the part W whose direction is not aligned can be ejected by the simple configuration before reaching the downstream end of the gutter 3 a. In the above embodiment, the gutter 3 a that has the arc-shaped cross section is used as the groove of the part direction aligning section 3; however, the groove is not limited thereto. For example, a two-step groove in which a center thereof is a deep groove and both sides are shallow grooves may be used. Basically, the total width of the groove is set larger than the axial length of the part W [approximately equal to the width of the gutter 3 a (a dimension in a right and left direction of the gutter 3a in FIG. 5)], and the width of the central deep groove is set larger than a dimension of the large diameter section of the part W in this case.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 1 , if a pushing arm 72 and the like are added to send the part W that is placed on the bed 5 by the part upright restricting section 4 to a next step in a part assembling process or the like, the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention can be ^m used as a part aligning apparatus for a part supplying apparatus that sends the part W in the aligned and upright state to a next step.